Member Rating

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Learning to love cruising

Sail Date:
September 2013

Destination:
Western Caribbean

Embarkation:
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

My husband and I have only been on one other cruise prior to this trip (with Carnival) and absolutely loved it! However, that was 5 years ago and this time it did not feel as magical. We still were able to relax but felt rushed on days we were at our ports of call.

Indro was assigned to our floor and took care of any room servicing needs we had quickly. He was great and I hope that if you take this cruise, you would be lucky to have him.

The food: The Sun King restaurant was the best place to eat even though we had to spend an extra fee to eat there. Otherwise, the food elsewhere was mediocre to average at best. The best breakfast was the fresh fruit, milk, cereal and yogurt. As for lunch and dinner buffets, fruit and salad tended to be the best options. For seated dining, when we did go, my husband and I had anytime seating. Seating was not an issue and service was immediate. The dinner was okay.

Drinks: We signed up for the Cheers program which cost the More
two of us $700 total (tax and gratuities were included in this fee). For one week, we felt it was worth it since we knew we'd be drinking. Only word of caution is that if you are an absolutely heavy drinker, the cut off each day is at 15 drinks. It still amounts to 90 drinks per person for the six days.

We had a balcony room (1026) that was never cool enough to sleep comfortably in. We had reported it but was told the AC was working properly. The other issue was that the room seemed noisy from outside. Two of the nights that we sailed, there were storms that could be heard on the inside. The wind just absolutely howled. Since this was our first balcony room, we had nothing to compare the experience to. Less

Compare Prices on Carnival Freedom Western Caribbean Cruises

Cabin review: Carnival Freedom Balcony Panorama 1026

We had a balcony room (1026) that was never cool enough to sleep comfortably in. We had reported it but was told the AC was working properly. The other issue was that the room seemed noisy from outside. Two of the nights that we sailed, there were storms that could be heard on the inside. The wind just absolutely howled. Since this was our first balcony room, we had nothing to compare the experience to.

Port and Shore Excursions

Snorkeling

(5)

At Grand Cayman Island, we snorkeled around the USS Kittiwake and another reef with the same tour guide as part of our excursion. Although we loved our excursion, we wished it had left earlier so that we could have gone to one of the beaches afterward. We couldn't plan much else around the island because of that.

In Key West, we took our own tour around the island with out going through the cruise line. I recommend the Conch Train Tour; there are several "trains" that drive through out the neighborhoods of Key West which and make 4 stops. You can hop off and get back on later when the next train arrives to continue your tour. The drivers were very knowledgable of the island and its history.

Beach Break

In Ochos Rios, Jamaica, we chose only to go to a beach excursion instead of doing Dunn's Falls due to time again. Although there were excursions that offered both the Falls and a beach in one trip, some of the fellow cruise members we spoke to afterwards said they were only at the beach for a little over an hour and didn't have time to relax. I think this is partly due to the short port of call Carnival had at Jamaica. Another issue is that even though you may have left early to arrive for your excursion, the locals that take you out are on a different mental schedule. We left 20 minutes late for our excursion for reasons unknown or explained to us.